The present invention relates generally to currency handling systems such as those capable of distinguishing or discriminating between currency bills of different denominations and/or authenticating currency bills, more particularly, to such systems that employ infrared sensing systems.
Systems that are currently available for simultaneous scanning and counting of documents such as paper currency are relatively complex and costly, and relatively large in size. The complexity of such systems can also lead to excessive service and maintenance requirements. These drawbacks have inhibited more widespread use of such systems, particularly in banks and other financial institutions where space is limited in areas where the systems are most needed, such as teller areas. The above drawbacks are particularly difficult to overcome in systems which offer much-needed features such as the ability to authenticate the genuineness and/or determine the denomination of the bills.
Therefore, there is a need for a small, compact system that can denominate bills of different denominations of bills. Likewise there is such a need for a system that can discriminate the denominations of bills from more than more country. Likewise there is a need for such a small compact system that can readily be made to process the bills from a set of countries and yet has the flexibility so it can also be readily made to process the bills from a different set of one or more countries. Likewise, there is a need for a currency handling system that can satisfy these needs while at the same time being relatively inexpensive.
Counterfeit currency poses a problem for governments and private citizens For example, a bank or retailer that discovers it has accepted counterfeit currency occurs a loss for the amount of counterfeit currency it has accepted. Accordingly, there is a need for a device that can detect counterfeit currency. Furthermore, for institutions which process large quantities of currency, the need for a device that can automatically detect counterfeit currency is particularly great because the likelihood that such institutions may encounter and inadvertently accept counterfeit currency increases with the volume of currency processed. Furthermore, when large quantities of bills must be processed, the time which can be devoted to examine individual bills generally decreases. While some automatic counterfeit detection systems of been developed, the speed at which these systems can operate is limited. Likewise, some counterfeit bills can not be detected using current counterfeit detection systems.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device which can automatically detect counterfeit currency. In particular there is a need for a device that can automatically detect counterfeit Mexican 50 peso currency. Likewise, there is a need for such a device that can operate at a high rate of speed such as on the order of 800 to 1500 bills per minute.
A document handling system is configured for detecting counterfeit bills using infrared light. The document handling system comprises an infrared light source, a sensor that is adapted to produce an output signal in response to infrared light illumination of a document, and a processor that is programmed to receive the signal and to authenticate the document based thereon.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to represent each embodiment, or every aspect, of the present invention. Additional features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description, figures, and claims set forth below.